2004 Environmental Bioinorganic Chemistry Conference

戈登环境生物无机化学研究会议是一个重要的论坛，汇集了生物无机化学家、地球化学家、环境微生物学家和工业研究人员，以阐明微量元素在环境系统中的作用、命运和影响的分子机制。在这项提案中，请拨资金用于支付出席会议的发言者、讨论领袖和会议主席以及其他与会者的费用。资金将补充戈登研究会议本身提供的资金。痕量金属对生物体和生态系统的运作至关重要，也是由各种工业来源排放的无处不在的污染物。一般来说，它们的重要性与它们在金属酶中的作用有关，金属酶催化关键的生物地球化学过程，如固氮。必需金属和有毒金属的影响也受到细胞内和细胞外金属结合化合物的调节，这些化合物控制着它们的生物有效性和反应性。越来越多的人认识到，必须在分子一级了解涉及这些金属的过程，以便预测它们的地球化学循环如何与生态系统结构和功能相关联。此外，由于极端的温度和压力，以及某些金属浓度极低，导致开发新的金属酶和金属获取策略，地球化学往往对细胞生物化学造成严重限制。关于这些过程的新知识为生物无机化学界提供了大量新的机会来探索配位环境和反应活性之间的关系。2004年戈登会议将是地球科学界和基础化学界之间传播新发现的一次非常重要的会议，预计这次会议的广泛影响将是巨大的。2002年举行的首届会议在弥合高度相互依存但通常不能很好沟通的领域之间的差距方面取得了杰出的成功。会议促进了化学家和环境研究人员之间新的富有成效的合作，促进了这些学科之间的研究生和博士后交流，并培养了一个多样化和支持性的知识界，以帮助青年科学家培养他们的职业生涯。新的学科为职业生涯早期的科学家提供了机会，为鼓励女性科学家的职业发展提供了特殊的机会。此外，将鼓励不同的科学家社区参加会议，如果会议超额订阅，这将是决策中的一个考虑因素。

ABSTRACTOCE-0413933The Gordon Research Conference on Environmental Bioinorganic Chemistry is an important forum that brings together bioinorganic chemists, geochemists, environmental microbiologists, and industrial researchers to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of the function, fate, and effect of trace elements in environmental systems. In this proposal, funds are requested to defray expenses of speakers, discussion leaders and conference chairs attending the conference, as well as other attendees on the basis of financial need. Funds will supplement monies provided by the Gordon Research Conference itself.Trace metals are essential for the functioning of organisms and ecosystems and are also pervasive contaminants, emitted by a variety of industrial sources. Generally, their importance is associated with their roles in metalloenzymes that catalyze critical biogeochemical processes, such as nitrogen fixation. The effects of both essential and toxic metals are also modulated by intracellular and extracellular metal-binding compounds that control their biological availability and reactivity. There is increasing recognition that processes involving these metals must be understood at the molecular level in order to predict how their geochemical cycles are coupled to ecosystem structure and function. Moreover, geochemistry often poses severe constraints on cellular biochemistry, through extremes in temperature and pressure, as well as exceedingly low concentrations of certain metals that lead to the development of novel metalloenzymes and metal acquisition strategies. New knowledge about these processes provides the bioinorganic chemistry community with vast new opportunities to explore the relationships between coordination environment and reactivity. The 2004 Gordon Conference will be a very important meeting for the dissemination of new findings between the geosciences and basic chemistry communities.The broader impacts of this Conference are expected to be substantial. The inaugural conference, held in 2002, was an outstanding success in bridging gaps between fields that are highly interdependent, but generally do not communicate very well. The Conference has promoted new and productive collaborations between chemists and environmental researchers, led to the exchange of graduate students and postdocs between these disciplines, and it has fostered a diversified and supportive intellectual community to help young scientists foster their careers. New disciplines provide opportunities for early-career scientists, affording a special opportunity to encourage the career development of female scientists. Moreover, participation of a diverse community of scientists in the conference will be encouraged, and will be a consideration in decision-making if the conference is over-subscribed.